Brussels, 13/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - The EU has joined Japan in a WTO procedure against Chinese duties on exports of stainless steel seamless tubes.
There is a new episode in the trade dispute between the EU and China - the EU is taking action against China on the abusive use of anti-dumping measures on its exports of stainless steel seamless tubes. On Thursday 13 June, the Commission called for consultation to be opened with China at the WTO on the duties imposed by Beijing, of between 9.7% and 11.1%. The EU thus joins with Japan, which, on 20 December 2012, in Geneva, challenged the antidumping duties imposed since 8 November on exports of stainless steel seamless tubes from the archipelago and from the EU (DS 454). If the consultation fails after 60 days, the EU may call for a WTO panel to be set in place to settle the matter.
European exports of stainless steel tubes are worth tens of millions of euro, and EU production stood at 13.8 million tonnes in 2012, according to figures from the German industry. China manufactures nearly half of the world's production of stainless steel tubes.
This new conflict comes at a time when Brussels and Beijing are involved in a dispute following the European Commission's decision to impose provisional anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panels and to carry out an investigation into the dumping and subsidies from which Chinese telecoms equipment suppliers benefit.
The EU is thus showing China that it will also challenge all abusive duties deriving more from retaliatory measures than measures targeting unfair practices.
In February, the EU won its case against China at the WTO on the issue of X-ray scanners - with the WTO judging the Chinese anti-dumping duties imposed on European scanners since 2011 groundless after an objective assessment. (EH/transl.jl)